I love fall...

I admit it may not actually be here yet, but it's creeping in and there is nothing like a California fall. A few faves?

1.The fresh, crisp morning air- even a little chilly in the morning when I wake up with the windows wide open
2. The leaves turning
3. Perfect weather evenings- run, bike, walk, play outside!!!
4. School- cute kids clothes, new projects, fun activities
5. Anticipation of the upcoming fun kids days- Halloween, Thanks., Christmas... three birthdays in our house (plus the doggy's)
6. And the winner is? Our newest love: Saturday morning football games (except the getting up at 5:30 am part)
7. Red nail polish
8. Jeans
9. All the yummy smells- cinnamon, vanilla, mmmm.

And so the kids have surrendered to talking about Halloween every day- what a world of imagination. A child's dream- "to be whatever I want." What about when we're not talking about Halloween? Kaiden had a long list of places he wants to have his birthday party and we get to go through them daily =). It's almost like when he learned to count to 100; here we go again- but oh so cute!

So I'm in my blissful place now, taking in what is approaching to be FALL! These pictures are OLD. We're talking 5 years ago. But they are some of my faves. Happy fall!

The washer epidemic

Why is it that no matter what I do to protect myself from the "kid-ness" of life I can't win? This year we bought a new super massive ultimate front loading washing machine. It's my favorite- holds more clothes than any other washer on the market, condensing what used to be 7 - 10 loads per week in the super extra large capacity washer to a mere 3 or 4 in this beast. Just when I think this life saver of a machine will be with me forever- or a least hopefully as long as the dog, I find these. Now, don't get me wrong, we've had crayons, money, candy wrappers, tissues, even an occasional small plastic toy. But never before have we had staples in the washer. Don't you ever wonder why your kids do weird things? Who puts staples in their pocket anyway? Saving some extra staples for later- just in case? I hope my monster washer wasn't too offended and sticks with me anyway.

The littlest musician

The kids school offers music lessons for the fifth graders. The only catch is you provide your own instrument. Kelsey's came in the mail. We're still trying to figure out how to blow in it so that noise actually comes out of the thing. Tony seems to be the only one who can do it in our house so far.

Hello, Friend!

Last week I was finishing up edging the baseboard of the last wall downstairs. When edging, I usually lie down with my head against the floor so that I'm eye level with the baseboard. So I place my head against the drop cloth and noticed this little friend right by my head! It was quite a surprise! I'm sure he was happier when I put him back outside.